Automatic lance changing apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an automatic coupling for coupling lances used in steel production to a coupling head of a lance carrier, the required materials and cooling liquids being supplied to the lance through the coupling head. 
     Coupling takes place by means of coupling hooks (4) which are provided on the coupling head (6), mounted by means of eccentrics (12), and vertically movable by actuation of these eccentrics (12).

The invention relates to an automatic lance changing apparatus, inparticular for lances for steel production by a top blowing process, tobe coupled and fastened to a lance carrier slide which can travelvertically, the materials required for refining, and also if necessary acooling fluid, being fed to a coupling head on the lance carrier slideand transferred at the coupling point between the coupling head and theupper part of the lance into the latter, and the coupling and attachmentof the lances to the coupling head of the lance carrier slide takingplace by means of two diametrically opposed coupling pins on the upperpart of the lance.

A novel lance of the kind mentioned above has been disclosed in theDocument LU-69797 and has the great advantage, as against the priorstate of the art, that it can be connected to the associated couplinghead in a single step of operation, in spite of the presence of aplurality of channels for the supply of the said materials and fluids,this step of operation consisting, in the described exemplaryembodiment, of manual attachment of a respective pivot bolt connectionon each side of the upper part of the lance.

For this purpose, the upper part of the lance has a flange with twodiametrically opposed, laterally open attachment openings forcooperation with the two pivot bolts.

In order to automate the manual attachment of, for example, the lanceswith the said embodiment of the upper part of the lance, an automaticlance changing apparatus is described in Document LU-86985, and is inparticular intended for lances which are provided on their upper part,not with a coupling flange but with normally two coupling pins which arepreferably diametrically opposed.

Since the automation apparatus described in the said Document LU-86985works faultlessly, it is not so much the object of the invention toremedy any possible inadequacies of the state of the art, but rather itsobject is to provide the user of the refining lances mentioned at thebeginning, with a further possibility of choice of the optimumautomation solution for his specific case of application, in particularfor lances with the said coupling pins. Indeed, the apparatus accordingto the invention has the advantage of a less complex actuating mechanismthan the apparatus described in the Document LU-86985 for lances withcoupling pins.

Based on an automatic lance changing apparatus of the kind mentioned atthe beginning, this object is achieved by the features set out in themain claim.

An exemplary embodiment is shown in the drawings, in which like partsare provided with like reference numerals, and is described in moredetail below. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows the front view of a section through one of the twoattachment mechanisms arranged on each side of the coupling head, whichis indicated in thin, continuous lines, for a lance with coupling pins;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the subject of FIG. 1, viewed in thedirection A.

It will be advantageous to consider both figures simultaneously for thefollowing description.

A vertically displaceable attachment hook 4, which is mounted on theleft, as seen in FIG. 1, on the indicated coupling head 6, is located inboth figures in its highest position, in which it presses the lance, theupper part 8 of which is indicated, against the coupling head 6 by meansof its coupling pin 10. Of course, an identical arrangement, not shown,is provided on the right of the coupling head 6.

The hooks 4 are in principle not designed to execute an actual pivotingmotion for the release of the pin 10, but substantially only a liftingmotion. If the lance 8 is to be detached in a changeover process, thetwo hooks 4 are lowered, so that the lance 8 is freed from the couplinghead 6; it can then be taken up and removed by a transfer apparatus, notshown, such as the one indicated in FIG. 3 of the Document LU-86985. Thesaid transfer apparatus, or a second one, now brings up a new lance 8and suspends it with its coupling pins 10 in the hooks 4, upon whichthese execute a lifting motion and press the lance against the head 6 sothat it is ready for operation.

A great advantage of the invention is the simplicity of the apparatusfor producing the vertical motions of the hooks. An eccentric device onboth sides of the coupling head is concerned here, consisting of arespective eccentric body 12 which is mounted by means of rollerbearings 14 on a bolt 16 attached to the coupling head 6. The hooks 4are mounted, likewise by means of roller bearings 18, on the circulareccentric contour of the eccentric body 12. It can be seen from FIG. 1that the greater wall thickness 20 of the eccentric body 12 is locatedat the top in the illustrated state of operation, and the smaller wallthickness 22 at the bottom. This corresponds of course to the hookposition for pressing the lance against the coupling head.

A respective pivot arm 24 is flanged onto each eccentric body 12 toactuate it, and in a preferred embodiment of the invention is actuated,and also held in the operating position, by a pneumatic cylinder, 26,shown schematically in FIG. 2.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for coupling a lance used for steel productionin a top blowing process to a coupling head, said lance including a pairof coupling pins, comprising:a pair of eccentric members rotatablymounted on opposite sides of the coupling head: pivot arm means forrotating said eccentric members relative to the coupling head; couplinghook means for engaging the coupling pins of the lance, said hook meanscomprising: a pair of hooks, each of said hooks being rotatably mountedon a respective one of the pair of eccentric members and having a firstposition for securing the lance against the coupling head and a secondposition for releasing the lance from the coupling head and wherein thehooks may be moved between the first and second positions by rotation ofthe eccentric members.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprisingpneumatic means for actuating the pivot arm means.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the pneumatic means holds the pivot arms to maintainthe hooks in the first position.